Dante stood at the observation window in the Vertex lab, staring at the monitors. Behind him, machines beeped softly. The four trial patients were resting on their beds, and were sleeping peacefully. Liam walked in with a tablet in his hand and said, “The twenty four hour blood work just came back.” Dante turned and asked expectantly, “And?” Liam handed him the tablet. “Take a look for yourself.” Dante scrolled through the data as his eyes moved quickly over the numbers and charts. Then he stopped and smiled to himself. “This is good,” he said quietly. “This is really good.” Liam nodded and said with a big smile on his face. “The regeneration markers are stronger than we predicted. No adverse reaction in any patient. Liver enzymes are normal across the board. Kidney function stable. The formula is holding.” “For how long?” “Early days still. But the trend is positive. If this continues another forty eight hours, we can call the first phase a real success.” Dante hande

Mason sat in his office at Lockwood Hotel, reviewing reports on his tablet with the morning sun casting its rays on his polished desk. He looked calm and satisfied. Then someone knocked at the door.“Come in,” Mason said without looking up.His assistant, Derek, walked in with a thin folder in his hands and said, “Sir, these documents just arrived. From Lotus Group.”Mason looked up expectantly and said, “bring them here.”Derek placed the folder in the desk hurriedly. Mason pick it up and scanned the pages with his eyes moving quickly over the text. Then he smiled to himself.“Excellent,” he murmured. “This is exactly what I needed.”Derek waited for a minute before asking, “Is there anything else, sir?”“No. That will be all.”Then Derek nodded and left, before closing the door quietly behind him.Mason leaned back in his chair with still that same sly smile on his face. The Lotus documents were perfect. He was beginning to take control of parts of Clara’s projects without her know

Eleanor Carlisle sat on the living floor of Dante’s mansion, surrounded by crayons and coloring books. Daisy was beside her, with her tongue sticking out in concentration as she colored a purple elephant. “No, no, Auntie Ellie,” Daisy said, pointed at Eleanor’s coloring. “Elephants are gray. That is blue.” Elenor laughed. “But this is a special elephant. He is magic. He can be any color he wants.” Daisy considered this with a serious expression on her face. Then she nodded. “Okay, magic elephants can be blue.” She went back to her own coloring. Elena, the housekeeper, appeared on the doorway. “Mrs Carlisle? There are some men at the door. They said they need to see you. It is urgent.” Eleanor looked up as her face expression changed from playful to serious and asked, “Did they give you names?” “Yes, ma’am. A Mr. Robert. Mr. Harry, and Mr. Chen. From the Lorian fund.” Eleanor nodded her head slowly and turned to Daisy. “Sweetheart, go find Nurse Amy in the Kitchen. Ask her

Mason dat at his desk in Lockwood hotel, reviewing documents and files. Peter stood by the window, looking out at the city, with his hands folded tightly on his chest. Two men sat across from Mason. They were board members from Lotus Group. They were both older men. Well dressed and nervous.Mason smiled warmly at them and said, “Gentlemen, thank you for coming on such short notice. I appreciate your time.”The first man, Mr Grange, nodded his head stiffly and said in a low voice. “Of course, Mr. Lockwood. You said it was urgent.”“It is,” Mason said and leaned forward slightly. “I want to discuss Dr. Dante Vance. Specifically, his position as second largest Shareholder at Lotus.”The second man, Mr Phelps, shifted in his chair and asked nervously. “What about it?”Mason lowered his voice into a more intimate tone. “You both kmow he does not deserve that seat. He is a scientist, not a Buisnessman. He is distracted by his little Vertex experiment. He is neglecting his duties at Lotus.”

Dante sat at the end of the conference table in his Lotus office. Around him, the Brookfield team gathered their papers and laptops, for the meeting had just ended.“That is all for today,” Dante said as he stood up. “Patricia, I need those vendor contracts by tomorrow morning. Hughes, the timeline revisions you mentioned—I want to see this by the end of the day.”Patricia nodded. “Yes, Dr. Vance.”Hughes swallowed nervously and said shakily, “okay. I will have them ready.”The team all filed out. Patricia went out first, then the junior analyst. Then the administrative staff. Soon, only Hughes remained, hovering by the door and pretending to look at his shoes.Dante looked at him and said, “Close the door, Hughes.”Hughes obeyed and walked back to the table. Then he sat across from Dante, with his fingers drumming the table consistently.“I am sorry to bother you, Dr. Vance.” Hughes said quietly. “But I need to know…what should I tell them? Clara and Mason? They will both be expectin